The Best Avaliable Light Lens

I'm shooting a concert at the end of August. I wanted to use my E-P3 and shoot avaliable light. The only problem is the only lens I have that will fit the bill is the Panny 20mm. But I'm going to need another lens with a little more reach. I was thinking about renting either the Olympus 75mm, or maybe the Panny 30-100mm F2.8. Not owning or shooting either I just don't know which would be a better fit. I will be able to get right up to the stage just feet away at times. Other times I may be a several feet away. If you have both or have used either which lens would you take with the Panny 20mm?

I have the 20/1.7 and the 45/1.8, the 45 is my choice on concerts because the longer reach is great and also good for portraying people there. The AF is also blazing fast which is good on concert. Don't know but have a feeling the 75 or something like that is too long, better to have a little wider and crop the pics. You can't get more FOV afterwards but you can always crop at least I have that feeling since you say you will be quite close, on stage or "several feet away".

/edit: too slow again yes the 45 is really small also, fits in your pocket, and the body in the other pocket

Here is the 45 from front of stage. From that close the 20 would have been nice. The idea of manual focus lenses is good too. The Autofocus gets a workout in this environment and I found myself overriding autofocus a lot.

Attached Files:

If you are able to get within a few feet of the stage, then I agree that you might find the FOV of the O75 restricting. The O75 would probably be my first choice if I were going to be 30 feet (~10 meters) or so from the action.

I also like the suggestion of an adapted 50/1.4, but that would depend to some degree on the type of concert. If it were something really high energy with a lead singer prancing about the stage, then I'd prefer the O45 due to the AF, but if the performers are more stationary, then a MF lens can work quite well.

The 35-100 would certainly be an option, but you're giving up more than a stop of light to the primes (two full stops to the 50/1.4), and with the E-P3 you can't get away with bumping up the ISO to compensate like you could with one of the newer bodies. The application might depend on whether it's a daytime or night concert.

My favorite lens for either concerts or theatrical productions is the Zuiko 35-100mm F2.0. It seems to have a versatile focal range and is great for available light and bokeh. Of course the problem is that you will probably need to manual focus since the AF is on the slow side when used on m4/3 bodies. I have used it on an EM-5 and it auto focused better than some but not as good as any native lens. So, my recommendation would be to go for the 35-100mm F2.8 Pany lens as it would be the closest to the Zuiko in terms of performance. If you would like to see an example of the 35-100mm F2.0 in action I have uploaded an example to the gallery. This one was done at a focal length of 100MM, F2.0, 1/320 of sec. on an E-5 body. This is a straight OOC jpeg with no post processing except a slight crop. I also shoot in RAW at concerts, just in case, but the jpeg was totally satisfactory in my opinion.

If you are able to get within a few feet of the stage, then I agree that you might find the FOV of the O75 restricting. The O75 would probably be my first choice if I were going to be 30 feet (~10 meters) or so from the action.

I also like the suggestion of an adapted 50/1.4, but that would depend to some degree on the type of concert. If it were something really high energy with a lead singer prancing about the stage, then I'd prefer the O45 due to the AF, but if the performers are more stationary, then a MF lens can work quite well.

The 35-100 would certainly be an option, but you're giving up more than a stop of light to the primes (two full stops to the 50/1.4), and with the E-P3 you can't get away with bumping up the ISO to compensate like you could with one of the newer bodies. The application might depend on whether it's a daytime or night concert.

Click to expand...

DEEJAYK, I do have a Pentax 50mm I haven't given it a thought. Maybe I should get an adapter and give it a try.

My favorite lens for either concerts or theatrical productions is the Zuiko 35-100mm F2.0. It seems to have a versatile focal range and is great for available light and bokeh. Of course the problem is that you will probably need to manual focus since the AF is on the slow side when used on m4/3 bodies. I have used it on an EM-5 and it auto focused better than some but not as good as any native lens. So, my recommendation would be to go for the 35-100mm F2.8 Pany lens as it would be the closest to the Zuiko in terms of performance. If you would like to see an example of the 35-100mm F2.0 in action I have uploaded an example to the gallery. This one was done at a focal length of 100MM, F2.0, 1/320 of sec. on an E-5 body. This is a straight OOC jpeg with no post processing except a slight crop. I also shoot in RAW at concerts, just in case, but the jpeg was totally satisfactory in my opinion.

Kenez that's relly nice, I like it. After doing some testing with my 14-150mm I think the 75mm and the 35-100mm will be a little tight. I think the sweet spot will be some where between 40mm 50mm. The 14-35mm F2.8 would also work. I'm going to get an adapter for my Pentax 50mm to see if the manual focus will work for me with the Ep-3.

Well, the 35-100mm does cover that sweet spot range you refer to but another option if you are willing to try a non-native lens would be the Zuiko 14-54mm Mk II lens. It is optimized for contrast detection focusing so it will focus faster than the other non-native options. It is also a fast lens with a F2.8-3.5mm range when wide open. On my EM-5 and my E-5 this has been my favorite "everyday" lens and if I went back and looked at the exif data from the past few years I am sure that would tell me that it has gotten the most use of all my lenses. You can pick up a mint used one for around $375. This lens always gets great reviews and it is relatively compact.

Well, the 35-100mm does cover that sweet spot range you refer to but another option if you are willing to try a non-native lens would be the Zuiko 14-54mm Mk II lens. It is optimized for contrast detection focusing so it will focus faster than the other non-native options. It is also a fast lens with a F2.8-3.5mm range when wide open. On my EM-5 and my E-5 this has been my favorite "everyday" lens and if I went back and looked at the exif data from the past few years I am sure that would tell me that it has gotten the most use of all my lenses. You can pick up a mint used one for around $375. This lens always gets great reviews and it is relatively compact.

Click to expand...

Yes the 35-100mm will cover the sweet spot. I don't know what I was thinking. So that gives me a few options to think about.

An adapted 50mm f/1.4 will give you better light-gathering while at the same time removing the autofocus that can be easily confused in a large, moving crowd of people. They're all pretty reasonably-sized and portable to boot

If you're thinking the 45mm f/1.8, then a 50mm f/1.4 should have it beat on all the useful fronts. I don't know what you're paying to rent, but a top-quality 50 should only run you $80-100 to own.

A legacy 50/1.4 may do the job quite well... IF you are at a particular distance from the stage, and comfortable with and capable with manual focus, and have a steady hand. It's economical, if not very versatile.

Personally, I would opt for the 35-100/2.8. It is arguably among the very best choices, allowing zooming in on individual players. Especially when coupled with something shorter, like the 25/1.4, 20/1.7, or the 12-35, should you find yourself a good bit closer to the stage than you might have expected.

The 35-100 coupled with something shorter would be all the glass you would need to cover this exceptionally well from a wide variety of vantage points.